A blog to share my mixed media creations and the processes behind them.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Hand painted, crumpled, and ironed papers

I wanted to show you how to create some inexpensive hand-painted papers. First, get out some pieces of lightweight, inexpensive copy paper and crumple them up. Yes, literally wad them up into tight little balls then unfold them… Great way to get out your frustrations! Then use an old plastic gift or credit card to scrape on the paint. At this point you can wad it up again then unfold it to dry or just leave it flat to dry. For me, the more wrinkles, the better!

Be sure to let the paint dry before putting on a second layer. Scrape on a second layer but try not to cover all of the first color. You can always use a baby wipes to wipe off some of the top layer so that the first layer shows through more. I don't always stop at a second layer... If you don't like the results, add another color, letting each layer dry before applying another.

If you choose to use a metallic, as I usually do, I would wait until the last layer. As you can see below, I used metallics on the first, third, and fifth papers. The possibilities, of course are endless, you can spray paint the papers or spray on top of a color, paint a design or use a stencil etc.

The last stop, after it is all dry is to iron the back the papers with medium high heat. And then have fun… They can be glued onto journals, tags, collages etc.

Have fun experimenting and please share your results if you give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by! I decided I should get another post up before I forgot how to do it :-) technical wizard I am not! Thanks so much for stopping by and I would love it if you would leave a comment and or subscribe! Happy Arting, Becky

I think I tried something like this awhile back, but a little different. I took deli paper and crumpled it up, then sprayed it with some handmade metallic spray mists. Ooh la la - let me know if you want to do a swap! There are literally thousands, if not millions of things we can do to experiment and play, creating backgrounds and collage fodder. I am in my happy place when I am doing this.